NASA’s expensive Mars exploration Curiosity rover is finally doing what it was created to do: rove. Following a successful wheel test, the probe moved forward. Photo Gallery: Curiosity Rover Makes First Tracks on Mars article tells that Curiosity beamed back some incredible images of its tracks, which tell scientists that the soil is firm, great for mobility, and won’t cause the rover to sink much. Curiosity also pulled out its big scientific guns, firing a laser beam at several rocks in the vicinity.
Yes, the Mars rover cost $2bn – but it’s far from a waste of money. Landing Curiosity on Mars was Way Harder and Way Less Expensive than the Olympics. Curiosity rover is about the size of a small SUV and weighs almost 900 kg. It uses scoops, cameras, drills, a powerful rock-vaporizing infrared laser, and 75 kilograms of scientific instruments to perform its investigation. Curiosity is very much based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. Wind River’s VxWorks real-time operating system serves as the software platform for all functionality. Seeing the successful commencement of the Curiosity mission – powered by COTS – is certainly a cause for celebration amongst engineers.
Plan Make Your Own LEGO Curiosity Rover for fun? Stephen Pakbaz designed a custom Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory Rover set, complete with PDF build instructions and parts lists. LEGO Cusoo pages have another model of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, named Curiosity designed by a Mechanical Engineer who worked on the actual Curiosity. A LEGO Digital Designer model and step-by-step .pdf instructions of the Curiosity rover are now freely available.
Rovio sticks some Martian action into Angry Birds Space and has released the following funny advertisement video that features Curiosity rover and Angry Birds.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Mars Rover Curiosity Equipped with Vaisala’s Pressure and Humidity Sensors
http://www.vaisala.com/EN/press/news/2012/Pages/Page_20120824021639.aspx
Vaisala has a presence in examining the Martian atmosphere as the Mars Rover Curiosity is equipped with Vaisala BAROCAP® and HUMICAP® pressure and humidity sensors. The sensors are a part of instrumentation designed by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), and they will be used to gather accurate readings of pressure and humidity in the extreme environmental conditions of the Martian atmosphere.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Curiosity rover set for first test drive
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Curiosity_rover_set_for_first_test_drive_999.html
During the conference call, NASA reported scientists discovered a scientific instrument aboard Curiosity was not working properly.
One of two sensors on a weather station called the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station was not sending complete information back to Earth, NASA said.
The REMS, contributed by Spain and Finland, measures humidity, pressure, temperatures, wind speeds and ultraviolet radiation. The sensors are located on two short booms that extend out from the side of the rover’s main camera mast.
Scientists suspect the troubled sensor’s circuit boards were damaged by small rocks and debris kicked up by Curiosity’s landing engines, Deputy Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada said.
Tomi says:
Epic Struggle Between Birds and Pigs Goes on with a Martian Twist
http://www.nasa.gov/redplanet/angrybirds.html
Earlier this year, millions of gamers were introduced to concepts of microgravity in Angry Birds Space, which was supported through a partnership with NASA and includes links to a variety of education information.
“Rovio is teaching huge new audiences about NASA’s missions to Mars thanks to this collaboration,”
The game will include links to NASA web content about Mars exploration and NASA missions that are represented in the game.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA Curiosity team pinpoints site for first drive (Courtesy NASA/JPL)
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/anablog/4394300/NASA-Curiosity-Team-Pinpoints-Site-For-First-Drive–Courtesy-NASA-JPL-?cid=Newsletter+-+EDN+Fun+Friday
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA seems to be trying more and more COTS approach on other space missions as well:
PhoneSat Flight Demonstrations
NASA’s Smartphone Nanosatellite
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/crosscutting_capability/edison/phonesat.html
NASA’s PhoneSat project will demonstrate the ability to launch the lowest-cost and easiest to build satellites ever flown in space – capabilities enabled by using off-the-shelf consumer smartphones to build spacecraft.
To achieve this, NASA’s PhoneSat design makes extensive use of commercial-off-the-shelf components, including an unmodified, consumer-grade smartphone. Out of the box smartphones already offer a wealth of capabilities needed for satellite systems, including fast processors, versatile operating systems, multiple miniature sensors, high-resolution cameras, GPS receivers, and several radios.
NASA engineers kept the total cost of the components to build each of the three prototype satellites in the PhoneSat project to $3,500 by using only commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and keeping the design and mission objectives to a minimum for the first flight.
NASA PhoneSat engineers also are changing the way missions are designed by rapidly prototyping and incorporating existing commercial technologies and hardware. This approach allows engineers to see what capabilities commercial technologies can provide, rather than trying to custom-design technology solutions to meet set requirements. Engineers can rapidly upgrade the entire satellite’s capabilities and add new features for each future generation of PhoneSats.
NASA’s prototype smartphone satellite, known as PhoneSat 1.0, is built around the Nexus One smartphone made by HTC Corp., running Google’s Android operating system. The Nexus One acts as the spacecraft onboard computer. Sensors determine the orientation of the spacecraft while the smartphone’s camera can be used for Earth observations. Commercial-off-the-shelf parts include a watchdog circuit that monitors the systems and reboots the phone if it stops sending radio signals.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mars rover harangues empty landscape with loudhailer
‘Gooooood morning Mars! General Charlie Bolden here’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/28/curiosity_voice_harangue_pics/
Curiosity, the nuclear-powered laser raygun rover recently landed on the surface of Mars by NASA, has begun shouting propaganda messages from Earth at the apparently empty desert which it is currently patrolling.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Before Curiosity, before Opportunity, before Spirit, and before Sojourner,…
Meet the Very First Rover To Land On Mars
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/08/29/020215/meet-the-very-first-rover-to-land-on-mars
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA Builds Your Own Private Satellite — With Google Android
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/08/phonesat/
What would you do with your own private satellite? If you haven’t decided, you should. PhoneSat — a project overseen by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley — wants to lower the cost of building space satellites to the point where anyone with space ambitions could launch one.
Yes, it’s a satellite made from a phone. The not-so-secret ingredient is Google’s Android mobile operating system.
The next version, PhoneSats 2.0, will use newer Samsung Nexus S phones and include a two-way radio system that will enable researchers to control the satellite from Earth.
Last April, NASA sponsored a development contest giving programmers the chance to write Android apps that will run on the PhoneSat.
Meanwhile, Nano Satisfi has raised over $100,000 on Kickstarter to fund the development of a satellite based on the open source circuit board the Arduino. The goal is to make it the first satellite programmable by the general public.
SkyCube is the brainchild of Southern Stars, makers of astronomy apps for iOS and Android. The plan is to launch a cube satellite from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2013.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mars rover will.i.am ‘cast: A depressing day for space and technology
Interplanetary voyages: Boring compared to pop, obviously
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/29/will_i_am_cast_mars_comment/
As the years pass, however, the bureaucracy which launched the moon missions manages to spend some of its budget on things other than offices and facilities on the ground. A few limited robotic missions are sent out.
Finally, a slightly more serious effort is made. A large nuclear-powered rover robot is built
The rover is launched after years of effort, travels through space, and successfully sets down on Mars.
One of the first tasks of the new rover is, in fact, to – completely pointlessly – retransmit a pop song back to Earth, as though it were nothing more than another TV satellite in geostationary orbit. It seems that, in the judgement of NASA (and they may not be wrong) nobody is interested in a magnificent, unparalleled feat of engineering that has landed a powerful robot on another actual planet … unless there’s a new pop song involved.
We also learn:
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden addressed the crowd in a video message encouraging students to study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Tomi says:
NASA Curiosity Rover Begins Eastbound Trek on Martian Surface
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120829.html
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has set off from its landing vicinity on a trek to a science destination about a quarter mile (400 meters) away, where it may begin using its drill.
Tomi Engdahl says:
High-Res Interactive Panorama Lets You Stand on Mars With Curiosity
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/high-res-curiosity-panorama/
Zoom in on every pebble and stone around the Curiosity rover in this amazing high-resolution interactive panorama taken on Mars.
This 360-degree view shows the craggy rim of Gale Crater towering behind the rover and the looming precipice of Mount Sharp — the rover’s ultimate destination — standing in front. The images from this mosaic were taken by Curiosity’s 2-megapixel MastCams
Tomi Engdahl says:
Curiosity parks for a day, looks back in wonder
Lays down some morse code
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/03/curiosity_cruises/
Wall•E wannabe Curiosity has driven another 21 metres, then given itself a day off to admire the view.
The craft will, over the next few days, continue its slow journey to a spot named Glenelg where it will unleash its drill for the first time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mars Rover ChemCam fires first laser on Mars (Courtesy of NASA/JPL)
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/anablog/4395156/Mars-Rover-ChemCam-fires-first-laser-on-Mars–Courtesy-of-NASA-JPL-?cid=Newsletter+-+EDN+on+Analog
On August 19, 2012 NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity fired its laser for the first time on Mars, using the beam from a science instrument to interrogate a fist-size rock called “Coronation.”
The mission’s Chemistry and Camera instrument, or ChemCam, hit the fist-sized rock with 30 pulses of its laser during a 10-second period. Each pulse delivers more than a million watts of power for about five one-billionths of a second.
The energy from the laser excites atoms in the rock into an ionized, glowing plasma. ChemCam catches the light from that spark with a telescope and analyzes it with three spectrometers
Researchers will check whether the composition changed as the pulses progressed. If it did change, that could indicate dust or other surface material being penetrated to reveal different composition beneath the surface.
Why does ChemCam use a Laser?
Previous spacecraft missions to Mars, like the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, had to undertake a rather laborious, and time-consuming, task of approaching a rock, brushing away dust, and, sometimes, grinding away outer layers of rock to take a measurement of a rock’s true composition.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Curiosity clears things up
Removes dust cover to produce sharpest images to date
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/10/curiosity_removes_dust_cover/
Curiosity has dusted off the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to take new snaps of the red planet’s surface.
MAHLI has worked just fine since Curiosity landed and recorded some of its first images, but did so beneath a dust cover.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Reveals Geological Mystery
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer20120914.html
NASA’s long-lived rover Opportunity has returned an image of the Martian surface that is puzzling researchers.
“The rover is in very good health considering its 8-1/2 years of hard work on the surface of Mars,” said Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager John Callas of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mission to Mars: NASA engineering and the Red Planet
http://www.edn.com/collections/4392151/Mission-to-Mars–NASA-engineering-and-the-Red-Planet-?cid=Newsletter+-+EDN+Weekly
Sci-Fi had it all wrong. It’s not Martians who invaded Earth, but Earthlings who are visiting the Red Planet.
Just how did NASA get its Curiosity rover on Mars and how does its Mars Science Lab operate? Read through this collection of EDN content on the topic of Mars exploration through engineering.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA said Thursday that Mars Curiosity has made a very significant finding: Research by the ATV’s photos prove that on there was a river in the Red Planet’s surface. The pictures show the riverbed, which rounded stones refer to the power briskly into the river.
Source: http://www.iltalehti.fi/iltvuutiset/20120928012464855_v0.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: NASA Space Launch System
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/systems-interface/4397197/Slideshow–NASA-Space-Launch-System
Tomi Engdahl says:
THE INTERPLANETARY ROVER Mars Curiosity has checked in using Foursquare, making it the first thing to do so on another planet.
Usually people check in at places like gyms, hotels and coffee shops using the app. The fact that the Curiosity rover has done this on Mars makes its announcement much more interesting than all those that came before it.
The Inquirer (http://s.tt/1p8yR)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Curiosity Rover Ready to Play in Martian Sandbox
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/curiosity-prepares-scoop/
NASA’s Curiosity rover is getting ready to stick its shovel in the Martian soil and then perform a detailed analysis of the resulting sample.
Now, it seems like they’ve found the right spot. The rover is parked at an area that researchers are calling the Rocknest, where it will stay for several weeks to practice its scooping.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Supercomputer On the Moon To Direct Deep Space Traffic
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/10/14/164217/a-supercomputer-on-the-moon-to-direct-deep-space-traffi
“NASA currently controls its deep space missions through a network of 13 giant antennas in California, Spain and Australia known as the Deep Space Network (DSN) but the network is obsolete and just not up to the job of transmitting the growing workload of extra-terrestrial data from deep space missions. That’s why Ouliang Chang has proposed building a massive supercomputer in a deep dark crater on the side of the moon facing away from Earth and all of its electromagnetic chatter.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why NASA thinks a supercomputer on the moon might not be pure fiction
http://gcn.com/Articles/2012/10/05/Supercomputer-on-the-moon.aspx?Page=1
Earlier this month, Southern California University grad student Ouliang Chang proposed that we begin the huge undertaking involved with building a supercomputing facility on the moon. And while that might seem like science fiction, NASA may actually be interested in exploring this idea.
Putting a permanent facility on the moon may be a bit of a stretch, but NASA has been thinking about upgrading its Deep Space Network into a true Internet in space since at least 2009.
The moon base idea would be like adding a new router and server to that network, which would accept signals from space, store them, process them if needed and then relay the data back to Earth as time and bandwidth allows.
To call Chang’s proposal bold would be an understatement. There may well be other ways of getting the same thing done
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: Great Space Rovers
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=254560&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily&dfpPParams=ht_13,industry_aero,industry_gov,aid_254560&dfpLayout=blog
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: NASA says “Hands off our stuff on the moon!”
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4402308/Slideshow–NASA-says–Hands-off-our-stuff-on-the-moon-?cid=EDNToday
Tomi Engdahl says:
Australian telco in $20m robot moon shot bid
PlusComms joins Lunar X Prize team, plans for Sydney mission control
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/03/pluscomms_plans_visit_to_the_moon/
Australian telecommunications and satellite communications company PlusComms has emerged as a key partner in a space consortium planning to send a robotic spacecraft to the moon.
PlusComms, which is backed by telco industry stalwart Robert Brand, is part of Team Stellar one of the teams competing for the Google Lunar X Prize.
The Googleplex-sponsored initiative is an international moon exploration challenge organized by the X Prize Foundation, challenging space explorers to be the first to land a robotic craft on the lunar surface, to travel at least 1,650 feet and send data and high definition images back to Earth.
The first privately funded team to achieve this by December 31, 2015, will scoop a $US20 million prize.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA: New Mars Rover By 2020
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/12/05/0139225/nasa-new-mars-rover-by-2020
Tomi Engdahl says:
Last moon landing was 40 years ago today
Apollo 17 touched down on December 11th
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/11/apollo_17_40th_anniversary/
December 11th, 1972, was the day when Apollo 17 touched down on the moon.
Schmitt was the first scientist to visit the moon.
Apollo 17 was the only night-time launch in the program and spent 75 hours on the lunar surface.
NASA sent no more astronauts to the moon after Apollo 17, with political machinations seeing funding directed to other missions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apollo 17 lands on moon, December 11, 1972
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/edn-moments/4403141/Apollo-17-lands-on-moon–December-11–1972
Apollo 17 was the 11th and final mission of the United States’ Apollo program, and was the sixth NASA mission to put men on the moon. Apollo 17 was also the program’s only night launch, taking off just after midnight.
Apollo 17 was the first in its program to suffer an extraterrestrial “fender bender.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA to launch comms ‘nanosats’
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4403998/NASA-to-launch-4-in-cube-comms-satellites?Ecosystem=communications-design
An Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket will launch three PhoneSat spacecraft into low Earth orbit in 2013 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va. The 4-inch “nanosatellites” weigh three pounds each and are dubbed Alexander, Graham, and Bell.
Two PhoneSat 1.0 spacecraft use of Nexus One smartphone technology from HTC Corp. and Google’s Android operating system. The third spacecraft is a beta version of PhoneSat 2.0 built around an updated Samsung Nexus S smartphone running Android OS.
The project is designed to make use of commercial electronics technologies as a way to reduce cost.
“The PhoneSat project is kind of a technology demonstration effort,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Engineers troubleshoot Curiosity computer glitch
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57571975-76/engineers-troubleshoot-curiosity-computer-glitch/
Flight controllers have powered up a back-up computer aboard the Curiosity Mars rover after software glitches interrupted the flow of science data. Space radiation may be responsible.
“We were in a state where the software was partially working and partially not, and we wanted to switch from that state to a pristine version of the software running on a pristine set of hardware,” Curiosity Project Manager Richard Cook told CBS News late Thursday. “The easiest way to do that is to essentially swap sides…and start up with the redundant (computer).”
Curiosity is equipped with twin flight computers, known as A and B, and either one is capable of carrying out the rover’s mission.
The computer problem is the first glitch of any significance since Curiosity’s landing last August in Gale Crater.
“I think we’ll get back to routine operations,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Moon 2.0: Teams race to get robots on the moon
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/serious-fun/4409607/Moon-2-0–Teams-race-to-get-robots-on-the-moon
A total of $30 million in prizes are available to the first privately funded teams to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, have that robot travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send video, images, and data back to the Earth. Teams must be at least 90% privately funded, though commercially reasonable sales to government customers are allowed without limit.
Twenty five teams from across the globe are racing to put robots on the moon by the end of 2015 and what they are coming up with along the way could have great application here on Earth and beyond.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What should NASA do next?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/nasa–revealing-the-unknown-to-benefit-all-humankind/4409601/What-should-NASA-do-next-
Tomi says:
Curiosity’s MYSTERY MARS find: NASA reveals THE TRUTH
Strange dust may today unlock secrets of Martian life
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/12/nasa_to_announce_drilled_sample_results/
Tomi says:
Curiosity succeeds – Mars was wet enough for life!
David Bowie still waiting for an answer
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/12/curiosity_finds_mars_habitable/
Test results from NASA’s Curiosity rover’s drilling and chemical analysis of Martian rock show that the Red Planet could have supported life as we know it.
“A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program in a statement. “From what we know now, the answer is yes.”
The sample was 20 per cent clay and contained water-rounded stones, indicating that the spot was once covered either permanently or regularly by water. John Grotzinger, Mars Science Laboratory project scientist, said the water would have been neutral, or maybe slightly alkaline, and possibly safe to drink.
“We have characterized a very ancient, but strangely new ‘gray Mars’ where conditions once were favorable for life,” he explained.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mars Rover Mining – an Engineering Feat
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=260144&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
Being an unmanned, interplanetary mission, there are no opportunities to have an astronaut go out and repair the rover when there is a problem. The rover is also not controllable from a console here on earth, like a drone, since there is an appreciable communication delay. To control these long-range robots, a program must be uploaded and then activated. The amount of testing and the number of contingencies that must be accounted for is very large.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Human Settlement on Mars in 2023
http://mars-one.com/en/
Mars One is a not-for-profit organization that will take humanity to Mars in 2023, to establish the foundation of a permanent settlement from which we will prosper, learn, and grow. Before the first crew lands, Mars One will have established a habitable, sustainable settlement designed to receive astronauts every two years.
In 2013 Mars One will conduct a global search to find the best candidates for the first human mission to Mars in 2023. On Mars, the primary responsibility for the astronauts is to keep everything, and everyone, up and running. This will be a particular challenge for the first teams.
Once on Mars, there is no means to return to Earth. Mars is home. A grounded, deep sense of purpose will help each astronaut maintain his or her psychological stability and focus as they work together toward a shared and better future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Software bug halts Curiosity: Nuke lab bot in safe mode
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/19/curiosity_second_safe_mode/
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is parked in “safe mode” again after being laid low by a software bug. The fault was triggered by an unexpected command-file size, which the machine detected before it was too late.
The nuclear-powered space lab truck put itself into precautionary standby status around 0300 GMT on 17 March while it was operating off its B-side computer, a redundant brain activated the last time the bot suffered a glitch and switched from its A-side.
“We can just delete that file, which we don’t need any more, and we know how to keep this from occurring in the future.”
Mission engineers have already had to deal with memory problems in the A-side computer,
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA interview with Terry Fong: Intelligent Robotics Group
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4415134/NASA-interview-with-Terry-Fong–Intelligent-Robotics-Group
Terry Fong, Director of Intelligent Robotics Group and project manager of NASA Human Exploration Telerobotics.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: How NASA uses LEDs
http://www.edn.com/design/led/4415460/Slideshow–How-NASA-uses-LEDs
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voyager: The mathematics of interstellar space travel
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/math-is/4415981/Voyager–The-mathematics-of-interstellar-space-travel
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Happy Birthday Curiosity: One year on Mars
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/anablog/4419237/Happy-Birthday-Curiosity–One-year-on-Mars
The Curiosity Rover’s amazing sky crane landing on Mars, on August 6, 2012 EDT, is making history. Charles Bolden, NASA administrator says, “Wheel tracks now, will lead to boot tracks later”
August 6, 2013 marks the one year birthday of Curiosity Rover coming to life on Mars’ surface.
Already, in that year, Curiosity has sent back 190 gigabits of data along with 36,700 full images and 35,000 thumbnail images. The Rover has fired fore than 75,000 laser shots to reveal Mars rock and soil composition and driven 1.6 km.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MSL “SAM” Instrument Sings Happy Birthday to Curiosity Rover
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/103949/msl-sam-instrument-sings-happy-birthday-to-curiosity-rover/#ixzz2bTQA6xTa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Curiosity, the surface of Mars by the rover and analyzed the samples reveal that the planet can be found in more water than expected. Mars, the surface of the soil is now estimated to contain about 2 percent by weight of water.
- It was a surprise. If you take the cubic feet (about 30 liters) of land, you can get a couple of pints of water. The surface of the soil is like a sponge that absorbs the stuff from the atmosphere, a researcher Laura Leshin says.
So far, the planet is not found in methane, which is a country strongly linked to the birth of life.
Mars sand in addition to water found sulfur and carbon dioxide as well as other materials including perchlorate
- It builds up (Mars) on the surface almost like snow, researcher John GRÖTZINGER says.
Source: http://www.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/2013092717540693_ul.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
AgriRover brings Mars rover technology to the farm
http://www.gizmag.com/mars-agrirover/29645/
We tend to think of livestock farmers as “one man and his dog,” but if AgResearch of New Zealand has anything to say, that pair may have to move over to include a robot. A team led by Dr. Andrew Manderson is developing AgriRover, an agricultural robot inspired by NASA’s Mars rovers. It’s a proof-of-concept prototype designed to show how robots can make life easier and more productive for livestock farmers.
The prototype, the third in a series, was built with off-the-shelf components – many originally developed for motorized wheelchairs. AgriRover is powered by lithium phosphate batteries supplemented with a solar panel for additional range during daylight hours. It’s also designed to be small enough to go under two-wire fences and gates.
“This works in all weather, all of the time, quietly going about its tasks without creating extra jobs for the farmer. It’s designed to be easy to operate, and will report results as needed to a cell phone or computer,” says Dr. Manderson.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA’s Mars Orbiter Reaches Data Milestone
http://slashdot.org/topic/bi/nasas-mars-orbiter-reaches-data-milestone/
The orbiting craft has sent 200 terabits of scientific data all the way back to Earth.
A company might store, process, and transmit many gigabits—or even terabits—of data per week. Sometimes that data resides firmly in one building, or even goes rocketing down the fiber to an office halfway across the country or world.
But in many ways, that’s nothing compared to the data feat recently pulled off by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which in the past seven years has sent 200 terabits of scientific data all the way back to earth. That data largely comes from six instruments aboard the craft, and doesn’t include the information used to manage the equipment’s health.
That 200-terabit milestone also surpasses the ten years’ worth of data returned via NASA’s Deep Space Network from all other missions managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “The sheer volume is impressive, but of course what’s most important is what we are learning about our neighboring planet,” JPL’s Rich Zurek, the project scientist for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, wrote in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is China About to Scoop the Google Lunar XPRIZE?
http://news.discovery.com/space/private-spaceflight/is-china-about-to-scoop-the-lunar-xprize-131208.htm
A Long March-3B rocket carrying China’s Chang’e-3 lunar rover launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Dec. 2, 2013 in Xichang, China. The lunar probe is now in moon orbit.
A $30 million Google-backed competition to land a spacecraft on the moon may be about to be scooped. China’s Chang’e 3 probe successfully put itself into lunar orbit on Friday in preparation for an attempted touchdown around Dec. 14.
China won’t be winning the prize money, which is reserved for privately funded, previously enrolled teams, not government agencies.
The contest, which was unveiled in 2007, was open to teams worldwide and at one time did include a group from China, but they dropped out, said Alexandra Hall, program director with the X Prize Foundation, which is running the competition.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Africa, Clooney and an unlikely space race
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131210-africa-and-clooney-race-to-orbit/all
Plans to launch an African space agency are underway, and as Jonathan Kalan discovers, the indirect involvement of George Clooney in the continent’s ambitious goals provides an unusual twist.
What do George Clooney and Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir have in common? They both have their eyes on space – and in particular, harnessing the satellites orbiting above Africa’s skies.
The pair join various governments and companies now looking to harness space research across the African continent. Although only a handful of countries – such as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco – currently have space programmes of their own, others are racing to catch up, including Ghana and Ethiopia.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ESA readies Rosetta for next year’s comet touchdown
Pssst … time to wake up
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/11/esa_readies_rosetta_for_next_years_comet_touchdown/
More than nine years after its launch, and after a long deep-sleep, the ESA’s Rosetta comet-hunter is soon to be woken up for a November 2014 rendezvous with comet comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
ESA officials will be watching the clock after 10:00 GMT on January 20, waiting to receive the signals that will tell them Rosetta has fired up and is communicating again. That will end a two-year hibernation that begun when the spacecraft finished five “slingshot” runs around Earth, Mars and the Sun, to reach the 100,000 km/h velocity it needs to catch 67P.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA’s Next Mars Mission Will Join the Interplanetary Internet
http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/12/13/217211/nasas-next-mars-mission-will-join-the-interplanetary-internet
“When the MAVEN orbiter arrives at Mars on 22 September 2014, the spacecraft will join up with the other seven nodes of NASA’s interplanetary internet, “